A JUNIOR hospital sister has escaped a ban after being found guilty of misconduct for racist remarks she made to a colleague in an imitation of comic character Ali G.

A JUNIOR hospital sister has escaped a ban after being found guilty of misconduct for racist remarks she made to a colleague in an imitation of comic character Ali G.

Nicola Newman was working as a Junior Sister at Birmingham Children’s Hospital when she told her colleague, Marilyn Rowe, that she was not invited to her hen party in Las Vegas ‘cos you is black’.

Mrs Newman, 33, claimed that the comment – a variation on comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s catchphrase ‘Is it cos I is black?’ – was a joke.

But Ms Rowe found the remark offensive and reported it to hospital bosses, who sacked Mrs Newman and referred her case to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

A month earlier she had made an inappropriate remark to a Muslim colleague, who she asked, during a night out, if she wore a head scarf because her hair was greasy.

The NMC has handed a two-year caution order to Mrs Newman for the two remarks.

“For a junior sister to direct a racist joke at a staff nurse in a hospital ward is so clearly misconduct that the contrary cannot be argued,” said NMC panel chair John Haines.

“We considered that Mrs Newman’s behaviour was unacceptable and needed to be marked as completely inappropriate.

“The panel acknowledged the incidents in question did not involve patients, and one of the incidents took place in a social environment.

“However, we considered it our duty not only to protect the public, but also to uphold public confidence in the profession and maintain the standards of conduct and behaviour of the nursing profession.”

At the hearing, which concluded earlier this month, Newman admitted making an inappropriate remark to Ms Rowe in August 2007, but denied being racist.

She was also reprimanded for the comment she made to a Muslim colleague in July 2007.

The panel found the first statement racist, but ruled the second remark was not as it referred to the colleague’s religion, rather than skin colour, but found it was still inappropriate. Mr Haines added: “The panel noted that the incidents took place some five years ago, and that there is no evidence of repetition of similar behaviour.

“A caution order for a period of two years adequately addresses the circumstances of this case and is a proportionate sanction.”

In a statement released after an initial hearing, a Children’s Hospital spokesman said: “Following an internal investigation, Mrs Newman was found guilty of misconduct and dismissed from the Trust in January 2010. Birmingham Children’s Hospital referred the case to the NMC.” Mrs Newman was unavailable for comment.